Newsletters

AI helps key media players uncover audience segments & interests while AR/VR opens up new channels to reach consumers

Key Insights and Signals in Media and Entertainment

Centre Setup and Expansion
Verizon Media opens a new office and broadcast production studio
 The studio provides a platform where all brands can produce media content. Multiple studios, control rooms, and plug-and-play locations provide flexible shooting opportunities and respond to different production needs. This development in infrastructure will support the consolidation of production from other facility locations and bring everything under one roof. Read More>>
Electronic Arts to open a massive office in Vancouver’s False Creek flats
The global gaming giant has leased the entire four-story, 120,000 sq ft office building that was previously MEC headquarters. The company has no formal date of occupancy but a phased move-in is expected in Spring 2022. This will be a major expansion office for the company and it intends to focus on employee wellness as well as creative developments with a change of space. Read More>>

Mergers and Acquisition 
Huge spectrum sale may help Roger Communications’ case for Shaw deal 
Canada’s telecommunications companies will pay USD 7.2 Bn to buy licenses for 5G wireless airwaves, with Rogers Communications Inc. spending the most to protect its No. 1 position in the market. The company is in the midst of trying to buy rival Shaw Communications Inc. for about USD 16 Bn. Read More>>
Shutterstock set to acquire Pattern89 and Shotzr intelligence platforms 
Pattern89 provides industry-level and custom insights for predictive performance at scale. Shotzr uses human responsiveness to imagery, applying insights to any image for predictive analysis to ensure customers select the right image for social media and digital campaigns that will resonate with audiences. Read More>>
Partnerships
Microsoft and BT join hands to transition voice services to the Cloud
By transitioning global managed voice services to the cloud, BT can use Microsoft’s cutting-edge tools to develop new communications services that meet the needs and demands of today’s customers. The unique partnership paves the way for developing new cloud-based products and services for BT’s voice customers and the wider sector. Read More>>
iHeartMedia and NBA team up for a multi-year podcast partnership
 The partnership will feature the launch of more than 20 new iHeartRadio-NBA co-produced podcasts. The new podcasts will be produced using content from the NBA archives, including the most significant moments in sports history, latest league news, commentary, insider analysis, and more. Read More>>
Executive Movement
President of Walt Disney Studios becomes Vice-Chair of Sundance Institute’s board
Sean Bailey’s new role with the institute will officially begin in October. At Walt Disney Studios, Bailey oversees live-action film development, and production for Disney branded films, including Jungle Cruise and the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Read More>>
Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi to retire at the end of 2021
Zoradi will remain a member of the Board of Directors until the 2024 annual meeting, when his continuing term will be subject to board nomination and shareholder election. Sean Gamble, CFO & COO, has been named Zoradi’s successor as CEO effective Jan. 1, 2022. Read More>>
Deals and Deal Renewal
The Foxtel Group announces a major deal with the NBL for USD 45 Mn
The groundbreaking three-year agreement with the National Basketball League and ESPN will see every game of the NBL season and finals live on ESPN broadcast on Foxtel and streamed on Kayo. The deal is reported to be worth USD 45 Mn. Read More>>
AT&T MVNO deal will make Dish a much stronger competitor 
The agreement is for a period of 10 years and may have a greater likelihood of being renewed, which gives Dish more time to build out its network and may even eliminate the need to build to 95% of the population. Dish may also potentially lose customers when T-Mobile, with which it had a prior MVNO deal, shuts down its CDMA network. Read More>>
Gannett Co. has signed an exclusive agreement with game operator Tipico’s US subsidiary. 
As part of the five-year, USD 90 Mn deal, Tipico will become the exclusive sports betting and iGaming provider for Gannett and will integrate its odds, props, free-to-play games, and betting trends throughout the network and more than 200 affiliated properties. Read More>>

Latest Industry Insights from Draup Braindesk

The US media and entertainment (M&E) industry is expected to reach USD 825 Bn by 2023, and OTT services drive the industry in the region. 

Key Insights: 

  • Integrating new OTT services into existing subscription-based streaming devices among US households is expected to drive the industry in the region.  
  • Netflix is estimated to capture around 74% of the total penetration of US OTT households, followed by YouTube with 54% and Amazon at 33%.  

Technology Trends Across M&E Industry: 

  • Integrating AR/VR technology is helping the industry gain new audiences and improve their engagement experience in the entertainment business to drive more personalization for customers. 
  • IoT is helping make the gaming experience more interactive via sensor devices. IoT combined with technologies like AI, and AR/VR are helping deliver a more interactive experience. 
  • AI is being used in recommendation engines that help improve engagement and programming based on customer interests, trends, and scenarios. On the other hand, machine learning is helping recommend personalized content based on user data on preferences.  
  • The addition of blockchain apps in the entertainment sector makes content royalty distribution more transparent, efficient, secure, and automated. 

Key Players:  

ComcastWalt DisneyNetflixWarner MediaViacomCBS 

Key Funding Alert

Snapchat, Twitter-backed Indian social media unicorn ShareChat raises
USD 145 Mn 

The funding round was led by Singapore-government-owned Temasek Holdings and Moore Strategic Ventures and valued ShareChat at USD 2.88 Bn. The latest funding will help ShareChat double down on its strategic priorities. The company had earlier raised USD 502 Mn in a funding round that saw participation from Snapchat parent Snap Inc. and Twitter Inc. Read More>>

Startup Spotlight

Company – Endel
Total Funding – USD 7.5 Mn
HQ Location – Berlin Area, Germany
About: Endel is a cross-platform audio ecosystem that creates personalized, sound-based, adaptive environments that help people focus and relax. They’re a small team of artists, developers, and scientists who have worked together on many digital projects, including the award-winning kids’ app series, BUBL. Read More>>

Latest Reports Published in Draup

Hibu Account Intelligence Report: Hibu focuses on helping communities thrive by facilitating connections between consumers and merchants. Hibu is also focused on the company’s cash flow and liquidity position by performing various modeling scenarios of the potential impact and considering the recoverability of receivables and asset impairment. Read More>>
Rakuten Account Intelligence Report: Rakuten aims to create new digital technologies to solve social issues and regional revitalization, such as advanced communications infrastructure leveraging the ultra-high-speed and ultra-low latency. The company also concentrates on expanding coverage and customer acquisition to achieve its goal of 96% population coverage in the summer of 2021. Read More>>
Here’s what’s new on our Sales Intelligence Platform
Easy Access To Executive Movements 
  • Get to know executive movements in accounts in your lists through the Homepage feed 
View All Updates
Twitter
LinkedIn
Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* Zinnov, All rights reserved.
*|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|*

We are located at: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|*

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

What you should do now

  1. Request a Demo and see how Draup can maximize the impact of your go-to-market teams with AI-driven sales intelligence.
  2. Read more free material about sales intelligence topics in our blog.
  3. If you know someone who’d enjoy this page, share it with them via email, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.